Goetzmann, William H.569352212008-08-282008-08-282002http://hdl.handle.net/2152/901textWilliamson County, Texas, experienced a radical reconfiguration during the last fifty years. In 1948 it was a n isolated, agricultural, Democratic stronghold that possessed a rich brew of cultures and economies. In the year 2000 it was among the five fastest growing counties in the United States, suburban, homogeneous, Republican with a high-technology economy. The change occurred largely through two Federal public works projects — Interstate Highway 35 and the damming of the San Gabriel River. Planners failed to predict that t h e projects would trigger explosive growth, eradicating the agricultural world the dams were designed to protect. This work is a “thick description” of the projects’ environmental, economic, and cultural consequences. In short, it details h o w suburbia comes into being.electronicengCopyright is held by the author. Presentation of this material on the Libraries' web site by University Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin was made possible under a limited license grant from the author who has retained all copyrights in the works.Williamson County (Tex.)--HistoryRoads--Texas--Williamson CountyRivers--Texas--Williamson CountyThesis3085060